Geneos Wealth Management, a hybrid broker/dealer and registered investment advisor with $10 billion in assets, has added Eaglebrook, which offers independently managed accounts focused on cryptocurrencies, to its platform. The move will give Geneos’ 250 advisors access to Eaglebrook’s Bitcoin and Ethereum SMAs, as well as the ability to build customized SMAs managed by RIAs.
The news comes two months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission first approved a Bitcoin ETF. Geneos has approved three Bitcoin ETFs for use on its platform, including the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust and the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (which invests in Bitcoin futures). In order to invest in ETFs, Geneos advisors must take continuing education courses on new products and must sign documents stating that they have read the prospectus.
Geneos Chief Operating Officer Dean Rager said the Eaglebrook partnership provides another option and benefits that clients cannot get in ETFs, such as direct ownership of digital assets and automatic tax loss harvesting.
“The SEC has finally approved ETFs for the general public,” said Dean Rager, chief operating officer of Geneos. “But there are still customers who may want to have real trades. This will give us the ability to solve some of these problems instead of just putting them out there.” Sent into the unknown.
“Clients can get some help entering this new asset class rather than jumping in on their own,” Reger said.
Rager has been testing the Eaglebrook platform on his own account for about three years.
“I found it to be a very easy platform to use,” he said. “It’s much safer than going out and trying to make your own token and wallet.”
He likes the fact that the assets are held by Eaglebrook’s custodian, Gemini, and clients receive monthly statements just like any other brokerage account.
“Instead of customers just going out and trying to set up their Coinbase account or something, we have the ability to help them on a platform that’s more geared toward consultation,” Large said.
But Rager said it is still an emerging asset class and Geneos currently has fewer than 15 advisors investing in cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients. Client interest comes from high-net-worth individuals with $20 million or more in investable assets who might put $10,000 or $100,000 into crypto assets.
“It’s not material to their overall net worth, but they still want to check it out, so to speak,” he said.
Eaglebrook, whose clients include Dynasty Financial Partners, Mariner Wealth Advisors and Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors, works with more than 700 advisors and manages more than $210 million in assets, according to the firm.
